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(More customer reviews)I love my 4 year-old daughter more than I can say but, in all honesty, she's no chess prodigy.
Daddy has all these different chess sets around the house, so that's where the interest began (an interest I was more than happy to encourage). We made a game of learning the names of the various pieces and how to set up the board. I thought our next step would involve learning how the pieces move and maybe even playing 'games' with some of the pieces' movements (bishops and rooks versus bishop and rooks, etc.), it was then that we discovered "No Stress Chess."
What the folks at Winning Moves Games have provided is something you'd imagine some clever teacher would have thought of centuries ago, namely; drawing from a shuffled deck of cards to determine which chess piece is to be moved.
Players draw from a face-down pile of 56 cards which each show a picture, the name, and movement of a particular chess piece; if they are able to move that piece, that is what they must do. The card is then placed face-up on their discard pile (each player has their own separate discard pile). In addition to 'chess piece movement' cards, there are also 'move same type of piece again' cards; this card allows the player to move the same type of piece last moved by themselves or their opponent. Believe it or not, that's just about all there is to it!
Needless to say (if you already know how to play chess), the game that results from this type of play is a whole different experience, for the most part based on the luck of the draw. There is no such thing as being in "check," and a "checkmate" is achieved by actually taking your opponent's king! Accordingly, there is "no stress" in placing an unprotected queen next to your opponent's king unless, of course, your opponent proceeds to draw a "king" card.
Once this basic form of the game is mastered (referred to as "Level One"), players may progress to the next level. In "Level Two" each player is dealt 3 cards at a time and may choose which of those cards they wish to play for their move. In "Level Three" each player is dealt 5 cards. Finally, the instructions suggest an "Advanced Game" where the rules of pawn promotion, castling, checking, and en passant are employed.
In addition to the playing cards a two-sided board is included. The squares on one side of the board show how to set up the game, with the name and picture of each piece on their appropriate square. The included plastic chess pieces are "heavy-duty" and virtually indestructible (with the noteworthy exception of the cross on top of the king). Lastly, in addition to the rules and variations of "No Stress Chess," a very adequate explanation of "Standard Chess Rules" and basic strategy are provided.
Okay, back to the title of my review...much to my amazement, I have a 4 year-old who moves her knight around the board like a seasoned grand master. What more can I say?
-- Thom Shanken
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No Stress ChessWith this revolutionary chess teacher, you'll be playing the world's greatest game in no time at all! Unlike any other chess teacher, No Stress Chess teaches you how to play using illustrated cards and an illustrated two-sided game board. Includes two-sided chess board, 17 charcoal pieces, 17 ivory pieces, 56 action cards, black plastic card tray and instructions. For two players.
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